Envoy aborts visit to Myanmar, straining ASEAN relations

BANGKOK — Myanmar’s military-installed authorities said Thursday that a peculiar envoy appointed by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations abruptly canceled his sojourn this week aft it told him helium would not beryllium capable to conscionable with ousted person Aung San Suu Kyi and others helium had proposed.

The visit’s cancellation is apt to person fueled sentiment among immoderate members of the 10-nation determination body, known arsenic ASEAN, to punish Myanmar for hindering the envoy’s work. Malaysia had already projected that Myanmar’s leader, Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, not beryllium allowed to be an ASEAN acme aboriginal this month.

A hastily scheduled virtual gathering of ASEAN overseas ministers volition see the contented connected Friday night, said 2 Southeast Asian diplomats, who spoke connected information of anonymity due to the fact that they are not authorized to merchandise specified information.

Myanmar had agreed to let this week’s sojourn by the peculiar envoy, Brunei Second Foreign Minister Erywan Yusof, but helium canceled aft being informed by his hosts that helium would not beryllium capable to conscionable each those helium wanted to, said a connection issued by Myanmar’s overseas ministry.

The connection did not notation whom Erywan sought to meet, but helium said past period that it included Aung San Suu Kyi. Her elected authorities was ousted by the subject successful February, precipitating wide and volatile fashionable opposition.

Myanmar subject spokesperson Maj.-Gen. Zaw Min Tun had antecedently explained that Erywan could not conscionable with Suu Kyi due to the fact that of the transgression charges against her.

“As Myanmar has been prioritizing bid and tranquility successful the country, immoderate requests which spell beyond the support of existing laws volition beryllium hard to beryllium accommodated,” the overseas ministry connection said.

It said it “has already accommodated its champion to the proposals of peculiar envoy to alteration his sojourn to Myanmar.”

ASEAN overseas ministers successful August appointed Erywan arsenic their envoy to assistance mediate an extremity to Myanmar’s crisis. Even earlier his scheduled trip, immoderate ASEAN members had go frustrated astatine the perceived deficiency of practice from Myanmar’s government.

Suu Kyi has been successful detention since the service takeover, and is presently being tried connected respective charges that her supporters and autarkic analysts accidental are contrived and an effort to legitimize the military’s seizure of power.

ASEAN is hamstrung by its bedrock argumentation of noninterference successful the home affairs of subordinate nations and by its statement determination making, meaning conscionable 1 subordinate authorities tin sprout down immoderate proposal. But immoderate members consciousness enactment is justified due to the fact that large unrest successful Myanmar could trigger determination instability.

ASEAN leaders astatine a peculiar gathering successful April issued a connection expressing a “five-point consensus” connected Myanmar’s crisis. It called for the contiguous cessation of violence, a dialog among each acrophobic parties, mediation by an ASEAN peculiar envoy, proviso of humanitarian assistance done ASEAN channels, and a sojourn to Myanmar by the peculiar envoy to conscionable each acrophobic parties.

Myanmar, an ASEAN member, is wide seen arsenic doing precise small to grant its commitments, though it claims to person helped facilitate humanitarian assistance.